We came skidding into Palm Coast Marina Memorial Day afternoon. Whew, made it! With a half a day to spare. This was the very reason we could only do a “short stay -90 days” in the Bahamas. That’s right, our first granddaughter’s graduation!
After finishing up the requested chocolates and doing some quick housekeeping, early Tuesday we picked up our rental car. It was then time for Captain Todd & his first mate to switch into Pop & Nana mode. So, we cleaned up and headed to Daytona for the Matanzas High School Class of 2023 Graduation ceremony.
This is the fanciest we’ve dressed since Christmas Eve!
Congratulations, Kayla and Noah!
Tracee, our daughter has a boyfriend, Royce, whose son, Noah is also a member of the Class of 2023.
From our vantage point in the nosebleed section, we easily spotted Noah. (His height, 6’4-5ish? certainly helped there.)
Given Kayla’s “lack of height,” it was impossible to find her hidden in the sea of caps and gowns. We finally spotted her as the row she was in headed up to receive their diplomas.
It was heartwarming to see so much young potential on display!
With the ceremony concluded, it was party time!
Kayla and Nana (Susie)Kayla and boyfriend Chris from Atlanta, who’s headed to MorehouseKayla and big brother JamesNoah ready to celebrateThe grads with their proud parents. High five! From the left: Cmon (Kayla’s father), Royce, Tracee, Kayla, Noah, and his mother, Rachel. Also visible are our youngest grands – Alaina and Alan
On Wednesday, a party of twelve family members and friends came to take a ride on the SaltyMare! All are children of Tracee (4) and Royce (3), Kayla’s father and her boyfriend, and even Royce’s mother visiting from California!
Ready? Welcome aboard! From the front working back, grandson Alan, Lyrah, Tracee, granddaughter Alaina, Kayla, Braelynn, Chris, grandson James, Cmon, Noah, Royce, and his mom, Terri.
With that many passengers, it is impossible for everyone to be in one place at the same time, so our guests were spread about the boat enjoying the ride from different areas.
Happy crew on the flybridgeYoung Lyrah receiving instruction at the helmSnack time in the saloonTracee and Royce enjoying the breeze (and the quiet) on the bow
We are always learning as we cruise. On this particular day, we discovered that apparently, if you are between the ages of 18 and 25, a boat ride rocks you to sleep! Or perhaps it was the celebrating the night before… 😉
Not only are we no longer in the islands, but in order to make Palm Coast for our granddaughter’s May 30 high school graduation, we ended up heading north on the AICW over the busy holiday weekend.
Coming through the NASA Causeway in Titusville, it was interesting to see the progress on the bridge replacement. On the left side of the slider below, in January, on our way down the coast, notice the unfinished new bridge in the background basically isn’t there. On the right side of the slider, four months later, and voila!
The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in the next month or so, and then demolition of the old bridge will begin. Wonder what will happen to the courteous and efficient set of bridge tenders when the drawbridge is gone?
NASA Causeway Bridge replacement progress
It was a holiday weekend with a lot going on, both in the sky…
Power paraglider over TitusvilleB52 – built in the 1950’s!Eat at LuLu’s in Ormond Beach!
and seemingly on every shoreline and sandbar…
Some people found their own private spot. Others not so much.
“Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair”vs. THIS as the party spot
Some of the travel through the narrow parts of the ICW Saturday was fairly adventurous with jet skis zipping around and rows of smaller boats blasting by us. But hey, Holiday + Water = Fun for everyone!
On Sunday, we took a chance on an anchorage just off the AICW, very near the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Daytona Beach.
It was in a long stretch of No Wake Zone, so we thought, “hehe, this might work.” And it did! What a quiet, peaceful night.
Our plan was to walk the stately Veterans Memorial bridge on Memorial Day morning to read the commemorative plaques before finishing our northward track to Palm Coast in the afternoon.
On a side note, Granddaughter Kayla had requested that Nana (Susie) make nutty noodle clusters for the Tuesday graduation party, so Susie had been making the candy treats as we traveled north. Unfortunately, a few batches in, we ran out of chocolate chips. Uh oh. This being something of a family emergency, and ever the optimist, Susie thought perhaps we could find some when we left the boat to walk the bridge. A grocery store conveniently located at the base of a busy city bridge?? Sure, Hon.
Veterans Memorial Bridge in Daytona Beach Sunday night
Happy Memorial Day!
Monday morning, we lowered the dinghy and made our way to a nearby marina dinghy dock, then walked to the bridge. There are plaques mounted along the bridge in memory of American lives lost in war. The stations on the south side of the bridge begin with the American Revolutionary War and end with several stops highlighting World War II.
Along the way, we also enjoyed the view of the AICW.
SaltyMare is way down there between the two sailboatsSee, there she is.
At the top of the bridge, we had the privilege of meeting Mel Robinson, a friendly veteran and former food service salesman who lives nearby and walks the bridge routinely to pick up trash and keep the plaques free of bird poop.
Todd with Mr. Robinson
After chatting for a while with Mel, we asked if he knew of a store near enough to either side of the bridge that we could get our hands on some chocolate chips. First thing he did was check with his wife to see if she had some to donate to the “cause,” but she was fresh out. So, he loaded us in the car and took us to Publix. Crisis averted, and it was fun listening to Mel’s many stories! Thank you, Mel and Carol!
Bet you can guess which condo belongs to the Robinsons
With Nana’s chocolate chips stashed in Todd’s dry bag, we hustled back across the bridge. We’ll save the north side for our next trip through the area. Perhaps Veterans Day?
For now, we had our next mission to finish. Along the way, the ICW narrows and the houses on the shore are very close. Heck, with new houses and larger windows, we could see our reflection as we passed!
Look! That’s us!
We arrived in Palm Coast late Monday afternoon.
Say cheese, Honey. And then get outta the way – I’ve got candy to make!
Our Travels 